Editor's Pick: Russia pulls back some troops from near Ukraine

Russia said on Tuesday some of its military units were returning to their bases after exercises near Ukraine, following days of U.S. and British warnings that Moscow might invade its neighbour at any time. It was not clear how many units were being withdrawn, and by what distance, after a build-up of an estimated 1,30,000 Russian troops to the north, east and south of Ukraine. “We’ve always said the troops will return to their bases after the exercises are over,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. The development drew a cautious response from Ukraine. Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kiev would only believe that Russia was moving to de-escalate the situation if it saw for itself that Russian troops were being pulled back. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the latest diplomatic mission to defuse the crisis, held talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. After the talks Mr. Putin said Russia was ready to continue working with the West on security issues. “We are ready to work further together. We are ready to go down the negotiations track,” he told reporters. Mr. Putin added that Russia does not war. But it cannot turn a blind eye to how Washington and NATO freely interpret the principle of the indivisibility of security that no country should strengthen its security at the expense of others. India has also advised its citizens in Ukraine, particularly students, to temporarily leave that country in view of the escalating military tensions with Russia. The news of Russian military units returning to their bases is the lead in the newspaper for “putting to rest”, albeit briefly, the spectre of a real war between the nations and the reverberations in the rest of the world. It also raises fears of the revival of the cold war, in a deep freeze now for over two decades. For India battling inflation there is the threat from escalating oil prices following the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian President’s next move will be closely watched with bated breath by the world. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here The Hindu’s Editorials Gaming and banning: On ban on online games Mid-air: on suspension of Table Tennis Federation Try out The Hindu’s daily news quiz Which IPL franchise bagged veteran batsman Suresh Raina at the 2022 auction? Rajasthan Royals He went unsold Gujarat Titans Chennai Super Kings To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 16 FEBRUARY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Russia pulls back some troops from near Ukraine [Russia pulls back some troops from near Ukraine] Russia said on Tuesday some of its military units were [returning to their bases]( after exercises near Ukraine, following days of U.S. and British warnings that Moscow might invade its neighbour at any time. It was not clear how many units were being withdrawn, and by what distance, after a build-up of an estimated 1,30,000 Russian troops to the north, east and south of Ukraine. “We’ve always said the troops will return to their bases after the exercises are over,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. The development drew a cautious response from Ukraine. Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kiev would only believe that Russia was moving to de-escalate the situation if it saw for itself that Russian troops were being pulled back. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the latest diplomatic mission to defuse the crisis, held talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. After the talks Mr. Putin said Russia was ready to continue working with the West on security issues. “We are ready to work further together. We are ready to go down the negotiations track,” he told reporters. Mr. Putin added that Russia does not war. But it cannot turn a blind eye to how Washington and NATO freely interpret the principle of the indivisibility of security that no country should strengthen its security at the expense of others. India has also advised its citizens in Ukraine, particularly students, to temporarily leave that country in view of the escalating military tensions with Russia. The news of Russian military units returning to their bases is the lead in the newspaper for “putting to rest”, albeit briefly, the spectre of a real war between the nations and the reverberations in the rest of the world.  It also raises fears of the revival of the cold war, in a deep freeze now for over two decades. For India battling inflation there is the threat from escalating oil prices following the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian President’s next move will be closely watched with bated breath by the world. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? 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